Alghabra Looking To Make Changes To APPR

Canada’s Transport Minister, Omar Alghabra made it clear yesterday that the “circumstances Canadians faced during the holiday season were unacceptable” and that they deserve answers about what happened.

During Transport Committee hearings looking into the events that took place over the holiday season, Alghabra also made it clear that Canadians deserve to be kept informed about alternative arrangements when their travel is disrupted and that they also deserve to be “compensated when their rights have been violated.”

He said: “Upholding the rights of travellers is … a priority of mine and supporting a competitive [aviation] sector is also a priority of mine.”

Alghabra told the committee that the industry has made progress since the summer of 2022 when travellers faced long line-ups at airports, but noted that “there is still much to do.”

On the issue of passenger protection, Minister Alghabra pointed out that the pandemic has exposed some weaknesses in the Airline Passenger Protection Regulations (APPR) which were introduced in 2019 and “that’s why last September we reinforced the APPR so that travellers would be entitled to reimbursement for situations beyond the control of the airline.”

And he added: “Are there further opportunities to improve the rules? Yes. This is why, long before the events of the holiday season, we were working to strengthen passenger rights.”

To that end, Alghabra said that: “I hope to announce to announce changes and introduce legislation in the coming months.”

To check out the Minister’s appearance at the Transport Committee hearings, go to https://www.cpac.ca/episode?id=d0dce65d-6c5a-42c6-b096-366c0086e6f4

To see the airline presentations and questioning, go to https://www.cpac.ca/episode?id=c51152d9-0c3a-4b6c-92a6-5998554d0f7b